Video retrieval method and apparatus

ABSTRACT

A method of characterizing a video includes the steps of extracting frame images from an input video, calculating a time length between each of the frame images and a next one of the frame images, assigning index information determined by the calculated time length to each of the frame images, stringing together the index information assigned to the frame images, and characterizing the input video by the strung-together index information. The index information is a character code, and the strung-together index information is a character code string. The frame images include head frame images located at scene changes of the input video. The input video is being broadcasted or is included in a data base.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/771,562filed on Jan. 30, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,424,744, which is acontinuation of application Ser. No. 09/453,585 filed on Dec. 7, 1999,now U.S. Pat. No. 6,192,151, which is a continuation of application Ser.No. 08/908,072 filed on Aug. 11, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,021,231,which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/323,866 filed on Oct.17, 1994, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,805,746. The contents of application Ser.Nos. 09/771,562, 09/453,585, 08/908,072, and 08/323,866 are herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for retrieving abroadcast video or a video included in a data base, and in particular toa video retrieval method and apparatus capable of retrieving a video athigh speed by using a feature of a video as a clue.

In multimedia information processing systems of recent years, it ispossible to store various kinds of information such as videos and textsand display them to users. In case they are to be retrieved, however,there is no alternative but to retrieve them by using language such askeywords. In this case, work for providing keywords is required. Thetask of providing frames of a video with respective keywords requiresmuch hard labor. Furthermore, since keywords are freely provided by thedata base constructor, there is a problem that these keywords becomeuseless in case the viewpoint of the user is different from that of thedata base constructor. Furthermore, in case of videos, there is a needfor retrieval based upon a feature of an image itself besides a keyword.Retrieval using a feature of an image as a clue needs a techniquecapable of quickly matching a feature of a video including an enormousnumber of frames with features of an enquiry video. Heretofore, therehas never been a matching technique which can be applied to videos. Inconventional video retrieval, therefore, there is no practical meansexcept a method in which the user checks and looks for a video with hiseyes while reproducing videos together with functions of fast forwardand rewind. Even if videos are digitized and stored to form a data base,therefore, efficient use is impossible. Furthermore, there exists novideo retrieval system capable of catching a specific scene out of avideo which is being broadcasted.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a video retrievalmethod, and apparatus, capable of fast matching a feature of a targetvideo with a feature of an enquiry video without conducting work ofproviding keywords for video retrieval. As for the target video, both avideo which is being broadcasted and a video included in a data baseshould be dealt with.

In order to achieve the above described object, a retrieval methodaccording to the present invention includes the steps of providing arepresentative frame image specified by a user with a code or a codestring as a name thereof, and registering beforehand code strings of aplurality of representative frame images as enquiry video names;inputting a target video; extracting a representative frame image fromthe video; calculating one feature or a plurality of features from awhole or a part of the frame image; assigning a corresponding code tothe feature or each of the features; providing the frame image with thecode or a code string arranged in a predetermined order as a namethereof, and producing a video name for the video in a form of a framename string corresponding to a string of the frames; and matching theenquiry video names with the video name by using the frame name stringand outputting a result.

As the representative frame image, a head frame image located at achange of scenes or a frame image inputted at fixed intervals isadopted. The feature is calculated from a digitized area or a timelength of a scene change between frames forming a frame string. For thecode assignment, a feature is divided into predetermined ranges and acode to be assigned is determined on the basis of which range thefeature belongs to. As for codes, codes such as existing alphabeticcharacters or Chinese characters are assigned. Furthermore, if thefeature is located near a boundary of a divided range at the time ofassignment, a supplementary code is added.

On the other hand, the enquiry video name is also produced from the codeof a representative frame string. In response to specification of apertinent frame image by the user, the enquiry video name is producedsemiautomatically. In case there are a plurality of enquiry videos, anattribute name is added to each of said enquiry video names.

Video name matching is conducted when a representative frame image hasbeen extracted. Furthermore, the matching is conducted only when a timelength between representative frame images is within a predeterminedrange. Actual video name matching is conducted by comparing codestrings. In case there is a supplementary code, the comparison is madewhile considering a possibility of a different code meant by thesupplementary code.

Finally, the output result of matching includes at least one of timeinformation, a video name and a video attribute name, on the successfulmatching.

In case the retrieval target is a video which is being broadcasted and avideo to be matched is a commercial video including a plurality ofscenes, the output of matching is at least one of broadcast time, acommercial name, and a sponsor name.

In case the retrieval target is a video in a data base, a representativeframe image is extracted from a video when the video is stored on astorage medium. One feature or a plurality of features are calculatedfrom a whole or a part of the frame. A corresponding code is assigned tothe feature or each of the features. The frame image is provided withthe code or a code string arranged in a predetermined order as a namethereof, and a video name for the video is produced in a form of a framename string corresponding to a string of the frame. The video name isstored as index information, and the index information of the storagemedium is matched with a string of names of videos prepared beforehand.

The apparatus for implementing the retrieval method heretofore describedincludes video inputting means, means for extracting a representativeframe image of the video, means for calculating one feature or aplurality of features from a whole or a part of the frame image, meansfor assigning a corresponding code to the feature or each of thefeatures, means for providing the frame image with the code or a codestring arranged in a predetermined order as a name thereof, andproducing a video name for the video in a form of a frame name stringcorresponding to a string of the frame, and means for matching the videoname with the enquiry video names.

According to the above described method, representative frame images ofthe present invention are limited to head frame images at scene changesor frames inputted at predetermined intervals. Therefore, it is possibleto prevent occurrence of a video name having a large number ofcharacters including similar code strings. This results in an effectthat the matching time can be shortened. Furthermore, matching basedupon a name derived from the feature of the video is performed, andvideo retrieval is conducted as simple character string matching liketext retrieval, resulting in high speed. Typically in conventional videomatching, there is no alternative but to determine the degree ofsimilarity on the basis of an evaluation function based upon numericalcomputation between features, and hence a long calculation time isrequired. In the present invention, that calculation becomes unnecessaryat the time of matching. In principle, therefore, the present inventionmethod is faster than the conventional method. Furthermore, the featureis a simple one calculated from a digitized image or time length betweenframes, and hence it can be calculated in real time. Code assignment isa simple one conducted by only assigning a code on the basis of whichrange the feature belongs to. The time required for assignment is thusshort. As for codes, by assigning existing character codes, a generalpurpose mechanism for character string matching can be used. It thusbecomes unnecessary to newly develop a special matching mechanism forvideo retrieval.

In case a feature has a value located near an adjacent code at the timeof code assignment, a supplementary code is added to expand apermissible range at the time of matching. Therefore, deterioration ofperformance such as retrieval omission can be prevented.

On the other hand, in case there are a plurality of enquiry video names,attribute names of videos are added. By seeing the attribute name of avideo, the user can easily know which of a plurality of enquiry videoshas matched.

Video name matching is conducted only when a representative frame imagehas been extracted. And video name matching is conducted only when thetime length between the frames is in a predetermined range. This resultsin an effect that the number of times of matching can be reduced.

The output result of matching includes at least one of time information,a video name and a video attribute name, on the successful matching. Theuser can easily collect and arrange video retrieval results afterwards.

In case the retrieval target is a video which is being broadcasted and avideo to be matched is a commercial video including a plurality ofscenes, at least one of a broadcast time, a commercial name, and asponsor name is outputted as the retrieval result. Therefore,statistical information linked with the number of times of broadcast ofcommercial messages for each kind and audience ratings at the time ofbroadcast can be automatically derived. In case the retrieval target isa video in a data base, calculation of the feature can be omitted at thetime of retrieval by adding a frame name as index information beforehandand hence faster matching can be implemented.

An apparatus for implementing the retrieval method heretofore describedincludes video inputting means, means for extracting a representativeframe, means for calculating a feature, means for assigning a code,means for producing a video name, and means for matching video names.Real time processing thereof can be implemented in general purpose workstations having video input function. Inexpensive video retrievalapparatuses can thus be implemented.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a video retrieval systemconfiguration in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an entire block diagram of an embodiment of video retrievalprocessing according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a video naming method usinga character string;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a display screen used forinteraction with a user;

FIG. 5 is a diagram of a data structure of a digitized video;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an embodiment of an interactive processor 23illustrated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a character stringconverter 24 illustrated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an embodiment of an enquiry video nameregister 25 illustrated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a representative frameextractor 20 illustrated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a video name generator 22illustrated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a character string matcher25 illustrated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 12 is an entire block diagram of another embodiment of videoretrieval processing according to the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described byreferring to drawings.

FIG. 1 is an example of a schematic block diagram of a systemconfiguration for implementing the present invention. Numeral 1 denotesa display device such as a CRT for displaying a display screen of acomputer 2. Instructions to the computer 2 can be given by using apointing device 3 or a keyboard 4. A video reproducing device 5 is anoptical disk or a video deck. Video signals outputted from the videoreproducing device 5 are successively converted to digital image data bya video input device 6 and sent to the computer 2. When occasiondemands, it is also possible to take in video images which are beingbroadcasted, and a video signal fed from a broadcast receiver 7 isinputted to the video input device 6. Within the computer 2, digitalimage data are inputted to a memory 9 via an interface 8 and processedby a CPU 10 in accordance with a program stored in the memory 9. In casethe video handled by the CPU 10 is being sent from the video reproducingdevice 5, frame images are provided with numbers (frame numbers) inorder from the beginning of the video. By sending a frame number to thevideo reproducing device 5 via a control line 11, the video of thepertinent scene is reproduced. In case of a video sent from thebroadcast receiver 7, there are no frame numbers. As occasion demands inthis case, therefore, a time when an image has been taken in is recordedand used instead of a frame number. Under the necessity of internalprocessing of the computer 2, various kinds of information can be storedin an external information storage device 12. In the memory 9, variousdata produced by processing described hereafter are stored. The variousdata stored in the memory 9 are referred to as occasion demands.

FIG. 2 is an entire block diagram of an embodiment of video retrievalprocessing according to the present invention. The processing isexecuted within the computer 2. In accordance with the presentinvention, a target input video 27 is inputted frame by framesuccessively and stored temporarily in the memory 9. The representativeframe extractor 20 detects a scene change from a frame image of thetarget input video 27 stored in the memory 9 by referring to precedingand succeeding frame images and extracts a frame image 28 at the time ofdetection. The character string converter 21 converts the frame image 28to a character code string 29 representing features of the frame image28. The video name generator 22 successively stores the character codestring 29 outputted from the character string converter 21 in a shiftregister having a fixed length. The character code string 29 stored inthe shift register corresponds to a frame image string representing thetarget input video 27, and the character code string 29 is outputtedfrom the video name generator 22 as a video name 30.

On the other hand, the user conducts enquiry video registration,retrieval start order, and retrieval result confirmation in theinteractive processor 23. In the same way as in the character stringconverter 21, a representative frame image 31 specified by the user isconverted to a character code string 32 in the character stringconverter 24. The enquiry video name register 25 stores and administerscharacter code strings 32 of a plurality of representative frame imagesas enquiry video names 33 together with attributes. Attributes refer toinformation relating to a video such as the name of the producer of thevideo, date of production, place, characters, purpose, and action. Theseare inputted by the user via the interactive processor 23.

A plurality of enquiry video names 33 can be registered. In thecharacter string matcher 26, character codes forming the video name 30successively generated from representative frame images are matched withcharacter codes forming each of a plurality of enquiry video names 33registered in the enquiry video name register 25. If the video name 30and one of the enquiry video names 33 are coincident, the retrieval isjudged to be successful and a retrieval result 34 is outputted. Theretrieval result 34 is the attributes of the video in the successfulretrieval, and the frame number in the successful retrieval or the timeinformation in the successful retrieval. The retrieval result 34 isreturned to the interactive processor 23 and confirmed by the user.

Furthermore, the enquiry video name register 25 is informed of theretrieval result 34, and retrieval history data is automaticallyupdated.

In the present embodiment, the problem of matching a video with anothervideo is replaced by the problem of matching a name with another name bygiving names to videos in the character string converter. In the sameway as text retrieval, the present embodiment has an effect that a videocan be retrieved at high speed. In conventional matching of a video withanother video, there is no alternative but to determine the degree ofsimilarity on the basis of an evaluation function between features,resulting in a problem of long matching time. However, this problem hasbeen solved by the present invention. Furthermore, by connectingcharacter strings of a plurality of representative frames in series andfinding coincidence in names of long character strings, matching ofvideos of many kinds can also be coped with.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of a video naming method. First of all, theuser selects an enquiry video 35 having a certain length. Then, the userspecifies representative frame images 36 included in the enquiry video35 by a required number of frames. Each representative frame image isdivided into a plurality of blocks, and several features are calculatedtherein to obtain a feature vector 37. Elements of the feature vector 37include an area of a specific color of the representative frame image, atime length between representative frame images, an integrated value ofa sound intensity associated with the video, a time length of a soundhaving a fixed intensity or above, and an average value of each RGBcolor element. Features other than those described here can be adoptedso long as they describe features of the video and have resistance tonoise. All of the feature vectors 37 derived in respective blocks arecollected to form a feature vector string 38. An element area of eachfeature vector 37 is divided into sections. Depending on which sectionthe value of an element falls in, the element is converted into analphabetical character code assigned to the section. By replacingelements of all of the feature vectors 37 by character codes andarranging the character codes in a string, an enquiry video name 39 canbe generated.

Although an image is divided into blocks in the present embodiment, itis a matter of course that the entire screen may form one block. Bychanging the number of blocks, the number of elements of a featurevector, and kinds of elements, for example, a retrieval purpose can becoped with flexibility. For example, it is possible to cope with aretrieval purpose of the user's choice such as retrieval of the samevideo, retrieval of a similar video, retrieval of a video having acoincident scenario tempo, retrieval of a video having a similar colorconfiguration, or retrieval of a video having a coincident composition.

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of a display screen of the computer 2 usedfor interaction with the user which is displayed on the display device1. A frame image of a video is reproduced and displayed in a monitorwindow 40 of the display screen. Besides the monitor window 40, windowsdisplayed on the same display screen include a window 41 for displayinga list of extraction results of representative frame images, a textwindow 42 for inputting attributes of an enquiry video, a window 43 forspecifying a kind of a feature to be used at a time of retrieval, and awindow 44 for displaying a result of retrieval. These windows can bemoved to arbitrary positions by operating a cursor 45. The cursor 45 canbe freely moved by using a mouse which is the pointing device 3. Forinputting text, the keyboard 4 is used. Buttons 40-1 are buttons forcontrolling the reproduction state of a video. By clicking the buttons40-1 with the mouse 3, control such as video reproduction, fast forward,or rewind can be exercised. Furthermore, the scene to be reproduced canbe selected by clicking a representative frame image included in thelist displayed in the window 41. At that time, the video to bereproduced may be a video outputted from the video reproducing device 5connected to the computer, or a digitized video registered in theexternal information storage device 12. In case of the video reproducingdevice 5, the frame number of the beginning of a scene is sent to thevideo reproducing device 5 and reproduction is started from a scenecorresponding to the frame number. When a frame number of the scene endis reached, an instruction for discontinuing the reproduction is sent tothe video reproducing device 5. In case of a digitized video, video datacorresponding to the frame number of the scene beginning are extractedfrom video data represented by a video data structure 50 shown in FIG.5, for example, and displayed as graphic data. Sound data associatedwith image data are also stored in the video data structure 50 and maybe outputted to a speaker 1—1 in FIG. 1. When display processingcorresponding to one frame has been finished, display processing of thenext frame is conducted in succession to display a moving picture.According to the time required for display processing, the number offrame images displayed in a fixed time is adjusted so that the video maynot be traversed rather rapidly or rather slowly. In the monitor window40, a video fed from the broadcast receiver 7 can also be displayed.

The operation procedure of the user for retrieving a video by using thedisplay screen of FIG. 4 will hereafter be described. In order tospecify an enquiry video, the user first selects several representativeframe images arranged in the window 41 by clicking them with the mouse3. In the text window 42, the user then inputs and registers attributeinformation, such as the title and character names, of the selectedvideo via the keyboard 4. The number of registered information pieces isarbitrary. In the window 43, the user then specifies which of the timelength, color, sound, the number of divided blocks, and the like shouldbe adopted as features to be used as the retrieval condition. In thewindow 43, a “detail” button 43-1 is included. By clicking the “detail”button 43-1, a detail window is opened and a value region of a specifiedfeature can be determined according to the user's choice. This operationis conducted only when there is a change request. Typically, retrievalis conducted by using features preset by the system. After the retrievalcondition has been specified, a retrieval range is specified. As forthis operation, the kind of a video and a retrieval time zone can bespecified by clicking a “mode” button 42-1 included in the text window42 and selecting a retrieval range specifying mode. Finally, the userissues a retrieval start request. This is conducted by clicking the“mode” button 42-1, selecting a retrieval request mode, and clicking an“OK” button 42-2. The system starts retrieval processing and displaysthe obtained result in the window 44. The contents of the displayedresult include attribute information and time information.

In the present embodiment, the user can specify an enquiry video by asimple operation using the mouse 3 while viewing representative frameimages. Therefore, the work of converting a pattern feature to a keywordin detail becomes unnecessary. Furthermore, a feature such as the timelength feature, sound feature, or color feature can be selectedaccording to the user's choice, and wide application of retrieval can becoped with.

FIG. 6 shows an embodiment of the interactive processor 23 illustratedin FIG. 2. A general controller 60 exercises control over interactionwith the user and controllers. The controllers include a video displayprocessor 61, an enquiry video specifying unit 62, an attribute inputprocessor 63, a retrieval feature customizing unit 64, and a retrievalresult display unit 65. The video display processor 61 executes videoreproduction in the monitor window 40. The enquiry video specifying unit62 displays the list of representative frame images in the window 41 andoutputs a digital image 31 of a representative frame selected with themouse by the user. By using mode changeover, the attribute inputprocessor 63 conducts three kinds of processing via the window 42. Thefirst of them is processing of inputting the attribute of the enquiryvideo via the keyboard. The second of them is processing of setting theretrieval range. For example, the retrieval range is specified by aretrieval start frame number and an end frame number of the videoreproducing device 5. In case the target of retrieval is a video of thebroadcast receiver 7, the retrieval range is specified by a channelnumber, retrieval start time, and retrieval end time. The third of themis issuance of a retrieval start command. The retrieval featurecustomizing unit 64 designates a variable of feature using the retrievalvia window 43. The retrieval result display unit 65 is supplied with theretrieval result 34 and displays it in the window 44.

FIG. 7 shows an embodiment of the character string converter 24illustrated in FIG. 2. The digital image 31 sent from the interactiveprocessor 23 is divided into blocks, and the feature calculator 70calculates a feature vector. Elements 74 of the feature vector arenormalized so that each element will have a value ranging from 0 to 100,and the elements 74 are outputted. By referring to a characterconversion table 72, a character code assigning unit 71 makes values ofthe elements 74 correspond to character codes 75 and outputs thecharacter codes 75. When the value of an element 74 is not a valuelocated near the center of a range of the character conversion table 72,but a value located near a boundary between adjacent ranges, this factis reflected in the character code 75. A character conversion table 73has the same configuration as the character conversion table 72. In thecharacter conversion table 73, however, boundary ranges andsupplementary codes corresponding to the boundary ranges are storedbeforehand. For example, when an element has a value of 10, a charactercode “a” is assigned to the element by referring to the characterconversion table 72 and is outputted as the character code 75. Since inthis case there is no pertinent range in the character conversion table73, a supplementary code is not outputted. When an element has a valueof 56, for example, a character code “c” is outputted as the charactercode 75 in the same way. In this case, there is a pertinent range in thecharacter conversion table 73, and a supplementary code “C” is outputtedin succession to the character code “c”.

When in this embodiment an element of a feature vector has a valuelocated near a boundary between ranges for determining character codes,a supplementary code for informing of the fact is outputted. In case thecharacter code of an element is aA, for example, therefore, the elementcan be interpreted as a or b even if a change due to a factor such asnoise is caused. Stability at the time of matching is thus improved.

FIG. 8 shows an embodiment of the enquiry video name register 25illustrated in FIG. 2. The character code string 32 is registered in astorage unit linked by a list 81 under the administration of a videoname registration administration unit 80. The character code string 32as well as the attributes inputted to the interactive processor 23 bythe user are stored as character code string data 83 and attribute data82. At that time, retrieval history data 84 are initialized. As for theretrieval history data 84, registration of retrieval time and update ofthe number of retrieval times are conducted when the retrieval result 34is inputted. The enquiry video name 33 for matching is successively readout from the character code string data 83 via the list 81 andoutputted.

In this embodiment, matching of a plurality of enquiry videos ispossible and retrieval history can be administered. Therefore, updateprocessing of enquiry videos based upon occurrence frequency becomespossible. For example, enquiry videos which have not been updated at allare removed from the list, and the user newly conducts registration.

FIG. 9 shows an embodiment of the representative frame extractor 20illustrated in FIG. 2. The representative frame extractor 20automatically detects a scene change of the target input video 27 andoutputs an image at that time as the representative frame image 28.

First of all, a color histogram feature 91 is derived from a frame image90 currently taken in. It is compared with a color histogram feature 92derived in the last frame by a comparator 93. If histogram features aresimilar, the same scene is judged to continue. Otherwise, a scene changeis judged to have occurred. In case of a scene change, the image 90 isoutputted as the representative frame image 28.

In this embodiment, a scene change can be automatically detected. Incase a scene change does not occur for a long time, however, the image90 may be outputted as the representative frame image 28 whenever afixed time has elapsed.

The representative frame image 28 is converted to the character code 29by the character string converter 21 while taking a frame as the unit.This character string converter 21 is the same as the character stringconverter 24 described with reference to FIG. 7 and hence descriptionthereof will be omitted.

FIG. 10 shows an embodiment of the video name generator 22 illustratedin FIG. 2. The character code string 29 sent in time series whenever arepresentative frame image is detected is inputted to a shift register100 having a length capable of containing the largest number ofcharacters included in the enquiry video names 33 while it is beingsuccessively shifted from the left to the right. In the shift register100, a video name 30 to be matched is always stored. In this case, therightmost character of the video name 30 is the head character. Thecontents of this shift register 100 are outputted as the video name 30.

FIG. 11 shows an embodiment of the character string matcher 26illustrated in FIG. 2. Operation of this character string matcher 26 isconducted only when a representative frame image is extracted. First ofall, the video name 30 and the enquiry video name 33 are inputted. Theyare compared in a character code string comparator 110 to determinewhether the names 30 and 33 coincide with each other. For thiscomparison, a two-dimensional reference table 111 is used. The verticalaxis of the table corresponds to a code including a supplementary codefed from the video name 30. The horizontal axis corresponds to a codeincluding a supplementary code fed from the enquiry video name 33. If anintersection in the table has a value of “1”, the intersectionrepresents coincidence. If an intersection has a value of “0” theintersection represents noncoincidence. In case of coincidence, the nextcodes are taken out from the names 30 and 33 and compared successively.If all of the codes forming the names 30 and 33 are coincident, thevideo retrieval has been successful, the retrieval result 34 isoutputted, and matching of remaining enquiry video names 33 isdiscontinued. On the other hand, if code noncoincidence is detected,processing proceeds to matching of the next enquiry video name 33 atthat time.

According to this embodiment, the two-dimensional reference table 111 isused for code coincidence detection and comparison of character codeshaving supplementary codes can be made at high speed. Furthermore, atthe time when noncoincidence has been detected, matching is discontinuedand processing proceeds to matching of the next enquiry video name. Evenif the number of enquiry videos is large, therefore, matching can beperformed at high speed. For example, even if all commercial messages ofa video which is being broadcasted are to be retrieved, matching in realtime becomes possible.

In case the retrieval subject is a video which is being broadcasted andthe video to be matched is a commercial video including a plurality ofscenes, it is a matter of course that the broadcast time, commercialname, and sponsor name can be outputted as the retrieval result byreferring to the attribute of the list of the enquiry video nameregister.

FIG. 12 is an entire block diagram of another embodiment of videoretrieval processing according to the present invention. It is executedwithin the computer 2. Although the embodiment of video retrievalprocessing shown in FIG. 2 can also be executed at high speed, real timeprocessing, i.e., the speed of 30 frames per second is the limit. Anembodiment for exceeding the limit is shown in FIG. 12. The embodimentof FIG. 12 is different from that of FIG. 2 in that the representativeframe extractor 20 and the character string converter 21 of FIG. 2 areeliminated and a character string input processor 120 of representativeframe is installed instead. All that the character string inputprocessor 120 does is to receive a character string of a representativeframe of the target video stored beforehand in the external informationstorage device 12 as an index and send it to a video name generator 121.Assuming now that the transfer speed of a magnetic disk in a workstation is 10 Mbytes/second, for example, and the number of bytes ofcharacter strings per representative frame is 10 bytes, one millionrepresentative frames can be inputted in one second. Sincerepresentative frames of a video have scene changes at an average rateof once every five seconds, eventually the video is inputted at areproduction speed increased by five million times. The actual speeddepends on the processing in the character string matcher 125. Whenthere are 1000 enquiry videos, matching of ten thousand bytes occurs inthe worst case. If it is assumed that matching of one million bytesrequires one second according to the speed of the work station, however,the above described matching can be executed in {fraction (1/100)}second. Therefore, the method of providing an index according to thepresent invention eventually brings about an effect equivalent to videoretrieval at a reproduction speed increased by 500 times. Furthermore,by extracting a character string pattern having a high occurrencefrequency out of character string patterns of representative framesforming indexes of the target video, know-how of video production ofexperts can be acquired.

The present invention can also be incorporated into video reproducingdevices and television sets each having a video reproducing device.

According to the present invention, matching based upon characterstrings led from features of videos is performed. This brings about aneffect that video retrieval can be performed at high speed as in textretrieval. Furthermore, the feature is simple one calculated from adigitized image or time length between frames. This results in an effectthat the feature can be calculated in real time of video reproduction.In addition, by calculating and storing them in the external informationstorage device beforehand, processing can be advantageously conducted ata speed higher than the real time of video reproduction. Furthermore, inthe present invention, the user can specify an enquiry video with themouse while seeing representative frame images. Since the user canspecify an enquiry video by such a simple operation, the work forconverting the feature of the pattern to keywords advantageously becomesunnecessary. Furthermore, by extracting a character string patternhaving high occurrence frequency on the basis of the index of the targetvideo, know-how of video production of experts can be acquired.Furthermore, the present invention makes it possible to implement realtime processing in general purpose work station systems having videoinput function. This results in an effect that inexpensive videoretrieval apparatuses can be implemented.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of characterizing a video comprising thesteps of: extracting representative frame images from an input video;calculating features of each of the representative frame images;assigning index information determined by the calculated features toeach of the representative frame images; stringing together the indexinformation assigned to the representative frame images; andcharacterizing the input video by the strung-together index information;wherein the features of the representative frame images include a timelength between each of the representative frame images and a next one ofthe representative frame images, and color information of therepresentative frame images.
 2. A method according to claim 1, whereinthe index information is a character code; and wherein thestrung-together index information is a character code string.
 3. Amethod according to claim 1, wherein the representative frame imagesinclude head frame images located at scene changes of the input video.4. A method according to claim 1, wherein the input video is beingbroadcasted or is included in a data base.
 5. An apparatus forcharacterizing a video comprising: an extractor which extracts frameimages from an input video; a calculator which calculates a time lengthbetween each of the frame images and a next one of the frame images; anindex information assignor which assigns index information determined bythe calculated time length to each of the frame images; an indexinformation stringer which strings together the index informationassigned to the frame images; and a characterizer which characterizesthe input video by the strung-together index information.
 6. Anapparatus according to claim 5, wherein the index information is acharacter code; and wherein the strung-together index information is acharacter code string.
 7. An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein theframe images include head frame images located at scene changes of theinput video.
 8. An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the inputvideo is being broadcasted or is included in a data base.
 9. A computerprogram for characterizing a video, the computer program being stored bya computer-readable medium and, when executed by a computer, performingthe steps of: extracting frame images from an input video; calculating atime length between each of the frame images and a next one of the frameimages; assigning index information determined by the calculated timelength to each of the frame images; stringing together the indexinformation assigned to the frame images; and characterizing the inputvideo by the strung-together index information.
 10. A computer programaccording to claim 9, wherein the index information is a character code;and wherein the strung-together index information is a character codestring.
 11. A computer program according to claim 9, wherein the frameimages include head frame images located at scene changes of the inputvideo.
 12. A computer program according to claim 9, wherein the inputvideo is being broadcasted or is included in a data base.